Not too long after, people boarded the Arks in droves. The newly recruited townspeople were all gathered onto one Ark while the soldiers split themselves up between the other Arks. A total of seven Arks floated above the clearing. Several Sky class Mages that had an affinity for Wind magic directed wind to blow against the sails of the flying ships, accelerating them into the distance.
One Ark split off from the group, containing several Sky class Mages and Martial Artists and one Master class Mage that specialized in long distance communication. This group had set off with the intention of returning to Kai's hometown in order to carry out the task of questioning the hunters that had chosen to stay behind.
At this time, Eren had finally let Kai off, allowing him to return back to his group before they set off. Although on the surface, it looked like he had let Kai off the hook, he had assigned several hidden magical familiars to tail Kai. Although these familiars were weak and easily detectible to powerful people, for someone at the Earth class, these familiars were impossible to discover!
.....
Within the Ark that contained the townspeople that had recently gone through the Selection process, Kai was currently walking down a hallway. He nodded at the familiar faces that he recognized as he passed them by, heading up to the deck. A breeze ruffled his dark hair as he stepped up to the deck. A couple Sky class Mages were using wind magic to propel the Ark, constantly directing gusts of wind to blow against the sails. Kai admired their power for a few short moments before deciding to walk over to one of them.
"How do you do that?" He asked, staring intently at the faint distortion in the air around the sails.
"Magic, duh." The mage cracked a joke before laughing and shaking his head.
"Don't listen to him, kid. He's a dunce." The other mage on deck butted into the conversation.
"Hey! You're the dunce!" The first mage retorted. A gust of wind followed his sharp glare, ruffling everyone's hair and clothes. Kai just grinned brightly at the two of them as they threw insults and gusts of wind at each other for a while.
"It's simple really. We just have an affinity for wind magic," The first mage replied, casually directing another gust of wind against the sails. "We're Elemental Mages. Magic is split in various directions; elements, spiritual, an many more. I don't really care, to be honest. The thing is, at the Sky class, every mage has to go through the process of selecting what suits them best. I'm good with the wind." At the en of his sentence, he controlled a slight breeze to blow around the deck, as though to add extra emphasis.
"I heard you're good at Arcane Magic? Hmm, good luck with that. It's a tricky one." The second mage chipped in again, seemingly one to often divulge in gossip.
"Arcane?" Just as Kai wanted to question, he suddenly remembered the name of his arrow skill- Arcane Arrows, "What do you mean by 'tricky'?" He rubbed his jaw, finding the wording used by the mage a bit odd.
The mage contemplated a bit, as though trying to choose his words carefully, "Arcane is of the old arts. Most of the knowledge on the Arcane arts have been lost to time. Mages that study the Arcane Arts are mostly stuck at the Grandmaster class. It's incredibly difficult to encounter a Lord class Arcane Mage." Kai just listened as the two mages chatted, bringing up several related topics.
Their speed of travel was fairly quick. A day after they set off in the flying Arks, they were able to reach the end of the world, the area where they could jump to the next world.
Before jumping to the next world, everyone was ordered to retreat below deck, as the Arks would be exposed to the chaotic space that existed in the gap between worlds. Not even the body of a Lord class expert would be able to brave those chaotic elements.
A myriad of bright colors swirled before the ship as space tore, making way for their passage. The appearance of the Arks seemed to stretch taut, and finally, with a resounding boom, every single Ark disappeared from sight, traversing the chaotic space to reach their next destination.
...
In a certain remote cave...
"The operation failed..." Law nursed his numerous injuries as he breathed out through clenched teeth. "We wasted so much time, only to fail..." As someone who had set very strict rules for himself, he took the blow of a failed mission hard.
"We may have failed, but we will still get another chance. The only flaw in our plan was that we were not expecting a High General to supervise the Selection in this area," Gonzuk grunted out from the corner. He pulled down the hood that had always veiled his appearance. His dark skin blended with the darkness in the cave, making his eyes stand out in the darkness. "We will be more prepared next time.
Fay scoffed before pulling down her own hood, revealing her scarred face. The skin on the right side of her face was twisted and disfigured, seemingly caused by an intense heat, or corrosive substance.
"There won't be a next time," Law mumbled, "The Imperial Army will be more prepared. The fact that they were so prepared this time means that they're also aware of Lord Kasuyi's Inheritance. They must already have their hands on it." Among the three of them, he was the only one who still kept his hood up.
The three of them sunk into silence as they thought of what next to do.
"Very well then. We'll return and report back to the higher ups. We need more manpower if we are to regain Lord Kasuyi's Inheritance." Gonzuk stood up, pulling his hood back up before walking toward the entrance of the cave. "We leave at first light."